"Anyway, whether it's Kang Hyung or me, we're all talking about the human world. Yoon Seo Hyung is just… from another world, you know."
Soo Jaehee exaggerated as he clicked his tongue.
"You two have a lot of couple items too. At this rate, you might even beat the over-the-top couple. Ah, I guess they're the over-the-top couple now. Anyway, just counting the stuff here, you'd probably win."
Sure enough, there were plenty of things sent along with Kwon Jihan's. Even the half-mask Alec had picked up earlier was part of a set with a black flowered mask. While Yoon Seo put the gifts into his inventory, he set aside items that seemed to suit Kwon Jihan.
"The whole world's in an uproar over Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon dating. Has there ever been a time since the birth of human civilization on Earth when the entire world came together to cheer for one couple?"
"Stop exaggerating."
"I'm not exaggerating. The whole world is practically fangirling over you two. Did you know that? Because of you two, the number of young people in South Korea who are dating increased by 200% compared to before."
"Stop saying ridiculous things."
"No, seriously. Look at this. Hyung, this is your couple's official fan site, and it has 100 million members. It's a domestic site, but it has 100 million members."
Soo Jaehee came closer and showed him the website on his phone screen. The bookmarked site displayed the name 'Kwon Jihan & Yoon Seo Couple Official Fan Site,' with a popup reading 'Currently Voting for the Couple Name.'
Yoon Seo was taken aback. How had he only just learned about this site? And why was it considered official?
"Kwon Jihan Hunter. Did you know about this site?"
"Yeah. Seokyoung guild creates and manages official fan sites if there's a publicly dating hunter couple. It's better for the guild to manage it rather than letting unofficial groups take over, as it can cause problems."
"Why didn't I know about this?"
"You left all the dating-related business stuff to Seokyoung, didn't you? You said you didn't want to hear about it unless it was really important because it would just stress you out."
Kwon Jihan shrugged and continued putting the gifts into his inventory. Yoon Seo hesitated, wondering if he should ask to be informed from now on, but decided he'd rather remain in the dark. When he handed the phone back to Soo Jaehee, Jaehee pulled up the couple name voting screen again.
"Which one do you like, Hyung? The options are Kwon-Seo Couple, CC Couple, and II Couple."
Then Alec asked the question Yoon Seo had been meaning to ask.
"Kwon-Seo is obviously based on their names. What's CC? They didn't even go to college."
"They traveled around the Great Dungeon in a camper van, right?"
"So?"
"Camper Couple. CC."
"Well, that's… something."
Alec laughed helplessly. This time, Hwashim asked.
"What does II mean?"
"They went on a space trip together. They traveled the Milky Way."
"...."
"The
"Then shouldn't it be the HH couple?"
"Because the letter after H is I, it's the II couple."
"...."
It was truly an incomprehensible world of couple nicknames.
Kwon Jihan bumped his shoulder against Yoon Seo.
"Which one do you like, Hyung? I think II sounds cute."
"I don't like any of them."
"Alright. Then let's wait and see if a better couple name comes up. Soo Jaehee, why don't you casually mention on social media that Jihan Hyung and Chaeyoon Hyung aren't satisfied with any of these names?"
Soo Jaehee exaggeratedly reacted.
"You're giving me such an important mission? Hong Hyung will be jealous when he gets out of the dungeon, but I'll give it a try. After all, I was the first person to notice your relationship! Hahaha!"
At Soo Jaehee's words, Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo exchanged glances. Kwon Jihan chuckled for a moment, seeing Yoon Seo blink in surprise, and then asked Soo Jaehee to explain.
"You were the first to notice our relationship?"
"Yes. Oh, seriously. It's a good thing I'm the one who found out first, given how tight-lipped I am. Do you know how anxious I was watching you two? In my life, I've never seen anyone do such a clumsy job of hiding their relationship. Well, maybe in sitcoms. But I never thought you two would last this long. They say people with strong personalities don't usually stay together long. But I guess the power of love conquers all, huh? As the first to know about your relationship, I'm so happy!"
"…Since when were we dating?"
"Next month will mark a year since you two started dating!"
"...."
"Wait, no way. Jihan Hyung, you didn't forget your anniversary, did you?"
Soo Jaehee glanced at Yoon Seo while scolding Kwon Jihan. In truth, there was no need to be wary. Yoon Seo was also unaware of the anniversary.
"Huh? Didn't you two start dating after the Great Dungeon?"
"That's right. We confessed our feelings to each other in the Black Dungeon. Soo Jaehee, you must be mistaken."
"Ah, I thought so."
"…What?"
"Soo Jaehee Hunter, just so you know, a year ago, neither of us had any feelings for each other, and we weren't even interested. You're definitely mistaken."
"T-that can't be…."
Soo Jaehee blinked rapidly. Looking once at Yoon Seo, whose face showed disbelief, then at Kwon Jihan, who wore an amused expression, and back at Yoon Seo again, he finally collapsed to the ground in shock.
"This… can't be…."
The truth he had been certain of for a year crumbled before his eyes, leaving him utterly stunned. As he stared blankly, Yoon Seo calmly began putting the gifts away into his inventory. Soo Jaehee muttered.
"T-then, even though you weren't dating, you were doing… those kinds of things…."
Yoon Seo had no idea what Soo Jaehee meant by "those kinds of things," but he ignored it.
"A-adults… adults are so indecent…!"
With his face completely flushed, Soo Jaehee ran off in embarrassment.
Peep peep?
Only Riceball made a cute noise next to a bewildered Yoon Seo.
***
After parting ways with their comrades, Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo stopped by the lab before returning home. Seokyoung's headquarters lab was where the brightest minds in the world gathered. Whether Awakened or not, anyone who excelled in the scientific field was brought here. Robotics, astrophysics, nanomaterials, biomedical engineering… there wasn't a field Seokyoung wasn't researching.
Among all of these, the area that Yoon Seo found most intriguing was the quantum leap warp system. They were studying an item that could instantly transport someone across vast distances. If they succeeded in developing it, they planned to name it the "Warp Trap."
"No, damn it. Why is the data so absurd?"
"Didn't I tell you to calibrate the probe properly? Maybe you'll come to your senses once it's absorbed and molecularly disintegrated?"
"Argh! Don't touch that! I finally got it into a vacuum state!"
"What are you doing, you crazy bastard? You idiot! That's me. Cough. Ha ha ha ha!"
Yoon Seo looked through the large front window into the lab with a horrified expression. Every time he came here, it always looked like it was five minutes away from a total disaster. The researchers were constantly engulfed in rage, resembling mad scientists, and he had never seen them embrace and cheer even once. He had heard rumors of significant progress today, yet everyone was just angry.
"Should I call Team Leader Choi and ask about the progress?"
"Don't bother. Even if you ask, you won't understand a word of it."
"Do you see that cylindrical object the size of a forearm on the right? The one glowing blue?"
"Yeah."
"That seems to be the design for the Warp Trap. They've decided on a cylindrical shape for the design, but they'll be making detailed modifications later. When activated, it will produce a ring that is 2 meters high and 1 meter wide."
"It's smaller than I expected."
Seeing Yoon Seo's disappointment, Kwon Jihan smiled.
"It's big enough to let a person pass through, so that's fine."
Kwon Jihan subtly wrapped his arm around Yoon Seo's waist and continued.
"The blue light inside the cylinder represents the warp particles. If we want the trap to be larger, we need more particles. But it costs hundreds of millions to create even a single one of these tiny particles, which is relatively cheap compared to antimatter."
Yoon Seo decided not to ask how many particles were currently in that ring. For his mental health, it seemed better not to.
"We're still far from catching up with the Gaia System."
"No, it's not about catching up with the Gaia System; it's about catching up with Hyung. How on earth did you imagine something like a 'Emergency Exit'? feels more like magic than a skill."
The 'Emergency Exit' was the second sub-skill of that Yoon Seo created after the 'Safe House'. When used, a closed door appears before him, and by opening it, he can either enter a sealed dungeon or exit from an uncleared dungeon. It was an absolutely insane skill.
The circumstances that led to acquiring this skill weren't particularly extraordinary.
Yoon Seo obtained the skill while he and Kwon Jihan were waiting for Yoo Juncheol in the lobby of Seokyoung Headquarters one day.
They were whispering just loud enough to discuss the author of 'Love in Han River' when, screech—a car suddenly screeched to a halt right in front of the lobby entrance. A middle-aged man jumped out, hurriedly shoving aside the security guards using skills and rolled into the lobby.
Please…! Please help me! I heard you're making a Warp Trap at Seokyoung. I'll do anything, so please help me! Save me!'
The middle-aged man shouted loudly enough for everyone in the lobby to hear. Naturally, attention was drawn to Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon, who happened to be in the lobby. The man, oblivious to their presence, continued to wail until he finally noticed that everyone was focused on one side. He rushed over and suddenly kneeled in front of Seo Chaeyoon, who was wearing a mask.